Not so sure...Andrei's personal life is even less well known than his wife Mathilde. His brother Kyrill was suspected to have made a gay liaison that hurried Ducky to the grave. The only womanizer of that family was Boris who had an affair with Missy (Queen Marie of Romania).

I agree--when the photo came up before the caption, I thought it was Helen. Does anyone know the occasion? A play, just for kicks, what?

That's one of those family performances the Romanovs so liked.I remember an entry in GD Konstantin's diary about some "play" (1890 year I think) with Andrei and Elena as actors, and Andrei was in women's dress.

Im aware as many Romanov fans or historians that of the Vladimirovichi brothers Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich was a womanizer of all things. I know he's had an affair with a French woman and had a son named Jean-Boris Lacroix in 1902..I read that he later married and had two sons Boris I believe was his name b. 1928 d. 1944 and Joel b. 1931...But I dont know anything else...does anyone know about the Lacroix descendants of GD Boris?

Nicholas didn't need to make Boris third-in-line after he removed Kirill from the succession. That was automatic. In just the same way, when Savannah Phillips, the most recent British royal infant, was born, she went into the succession automatically, immediately behind her father and in front of her Aunt Zara, without any formal declarations.

Quote: However in 1908, after the death of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich had put Cyril third in the line of succession to the Imperial Throne, Nicholas II restored Cyril to his rank of Captain in the Imperial Russian Navy and his position as aide de camp to the emperor.

I'm assuming whoever wrote that means after Alexei and then Grand Duke Michael. Yet Grand Duke Alexei was born after Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duke Vladimir died in February 1909, a few months after his brother Alexei.

Yes Hector, you're right....The death of GD Alexei Alexandrovich should not have affected Cyril at all; as AA was the fourth brother and Vladimir the third.Only the death of Vladimir in 1909 would affect Cyril, Boris and Andrew.